More Than a Man’s Voice: The Nature of Faithful Preaching

Most Christians think of a sermon as a man explaining the Bible. The Apostle Paul thought it was something more. What follows is a brief exposition of 2 Timothy 4:1-3.

The Apostle Paul is writing his final letter. He knows his days are numbered. He tells Timothy plainly in chapter 4, verse 6: “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”

A man facing martyrdom does not waste ink. And so when Paul issues his charge to Timothy, the weight of it is immense.

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead…preach the word.” (2 Tim. 4:1-2)

In the presence of God. By the authority of the coming Judge. Preach.

A Command

The word translated “preach” in the Greek is κηρύσσω — to publicly declare or proclaim. And it is in the imperative. It is a command. But like any verb, it requires an object. Preach what?

Paul does not leave this ambiguous. Preach the word.

The man of God is not instructed to declare his opinions, however good they may seem to him. He is not told to proclaim his experiences or dreams. He is commanded to preach, and the substance of that preaching must be the word of God.

This matters more than we often realize. Paul goes on to command Timothy to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort.” But a pastor has no power to do any of these things in and of himself. It is only the word of God that can reprove, rebuke, and exhort.

Notice how closely this mirrors what Paul has just said in 2 Timothy 3:16. Scripture is profitable for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” The faithful preacher must preach the word faithfully precisely because it is the word that does the work.

“So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire.” (Isaiah 55:11)

Not all preaching qualifies. A man who fills the pulpit with his own opinions, however eloquent, is not preaching in the biblical sense. A man who flatters his congregation rather than confronting them with the word has not reproved, rebuked, or exhorted. He has merely spoken. Faithful preaching is defined by its substance — the word of God proclaimed accurately and without apology.

The Nature of Preaching

This raises a deeper question. When the word is faithfully preached, what exactly is the hearer receiving? Is it merely the voice of the preacher? Or is it something more?

Paul answers this in Romans 10. Writing of those who need to believe the gospel, he asks: “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14) Note: the NASB has the most accurate English translation.

The grammar matters here. Paul does not say “how will they hear about Him.” He says they must hear Him. To believe in Christ, they must hear Christ. And they cannot hear Christ without a preacher.

Paul makes the same point to the Ephesians. He tells them in Ephesians 2:17 that Christ “came and preached peace” to them. And in Ephesians 4:21 he says they “have heard Him.”

But Jesus never visited Ephesus. His earthly ministry was to the Jews. It was Paul himself who had preached to the Ephesians, as he recounts in Acts 20. And yet Paul says Christ came and preached to them. Christ spoke to them.

Pause on that for a moment. Paul knew he was the one who had stood before the Ephesians and proclaimed the gospel. He was under no confusion about what had happened historically. And yet he tells them that in hearing Paul preach, they heard Christ. The preacher’s voice was the vehicle. The voice behind it was the Shepherd’s.

The conclusion is plain. Through Paul’s faithful proclamation of the word of God, the Ephesians did not simply hear Paul’s voice. They heard the voice of Christ.

This is what preaching is. When the word of God is faithfully proclaimed, those who hear are hearing Christ Himself.

Itching Ears

Paul anticipates what will happen when this is not believed or practiced. He warns Timothy that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.” (2 Tim. 4:3)

An itch desires to be scratched. That is the nature of it. False preaching scratches the itch of the unconverted. It soothes. It flatters. It meets their desire precisely because their desire is disordered.

But those who know the Shepherd hear His voice and love it. The scratch of false preaching is not soothing to them. It is offensive. As Jesus says in John 10, “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Christ’s sheep know His voice. They hear it in the faithful preaching of His word, and they follow.

Come With Expectation

This ought to shape how we approach the Lord’s Day. The Puritans called it the market day of the soul, and rightly so. It is the day appointed for the gathered church to hear the voice of her Lord. Not the voice of a gifted communicator. Not the polished opinions of a learned man. The voice of Christ, through the faithful preaching of His word.

But this also raises a searching personal question. Do you desire faithful preaching? Do you hunger to be reproved, rebuked, and exhorted by the word? Or does the scratch of flattering preaching appeal to you more than the voice of the Shepherd?

It is only Christ’s sheep that hear His voice. A voice of a stranger they will not follow.

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17)

Come with that expectation. He promises to meet you there.

For further reading on the subject of preaching:

The Art of Prophesying — William Perkins | https://amzn.to/4avXUSA

Between Two Worlds — John Stott | https://amzn.to/4epgn4f

Preaching and Preachers — Martyn Lloyd-Jones | https://amzn.to/4oBAsta

If you are interested in the relationship between preaching and the minister’s responsibility to both declare truth and refute error, you may find this helpful: Two Sides of the Same Coin.

Some links above may be affiliate links. If you purchase through them, this publication may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Such proceeds help support the ongoing work of this site.